The three Top Gun Littleneck U15 teams posted a combined 11-4-1 at the New England Youth Lacrosse All Star Tournament at UMASS this past weekend. But one was actually a U13 team playing two age groups up. And they were the ones to find themselves in a Championship!

The ‘Neck 2017 team led by Bailey Laidman (13 goals, 4 assists), and goalie Ben Churchill, stunned five U15 teams in a row, before finally falling to the eventual Champs, the Rochester NY Blaze in the finals. Josh Rotman was also a key factor, owning the face-off X and playing tenacious defense. Props also to defenseman Tommy Jung, middie Trevor Ballantyne and Nicky Sobell, whose only goal of the tournament sparked a ferocious comeback against the much older (they all were) CROART team. But Coach Churchill is quick to point out that this was a total team effort. Congratulations 2017’s!

The 2016 Green team also came out of MASS with only one loss. They won four. Attackmen Kyle Helfrich and Chris Rota each notched 10 points over the two days. Rota also was dominant on face offs, earning him a spot on the Orange team at the next tournament. John Hincks and Justin Linden chipped in 8 points apiece, while the defense of Will Fokas, Ben Rush, Will Moriarty, Griffin Patrican and Nick Warren, backed by goalies Nick Connelly and Aidan Long, held opponents to 4 points a game.

On the surface, the Orange team, playing in the top division, would seem to be the underachiever in the group with a 2-2-1 record. However one of the wins came against the very powerful 3D team (4-2) with Orange team leading scorer Ward Mahoney scoring 2 of the 4. The tie came after a furious comeback against a team from Long Island whose reputation precedes them – Ward Melville. One of the two losses came against eventual Champ, Leading Edge 2016. Attackmen Harrison Gray, Alex Parent (game-tying goal against Ward Melville in the closing seconds) and Ryan Parsons each had 5 points, while defensemen Ben Snow, Michael Mackintire and Josh White kept games close.

Next stop – the Hogan Hershey (PA) tournament, where the ‘Necks will face a full slate of southern teams they’ve never seen before. Stay tuned.